Dealing with a cough, stuffy nose and sore throat in the days following the loss to Stanford wasn't the toughest thing for Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis to contend with. No, it was the inability to wash away some of the disappointment after one of the worst performances of her collegiate career.

She was unable to practice for more than a week, missed Sunday's game against Creighton before finally feeling well enough to get back on the court. She returned to practice on Tuesday and in her first game action since the Stanford loss she had a game-high 21 points, a career high five steals to go with eight rebounds and four assists (a number which should have been around six or seven if not for some missed layups by her teammates) in an 85-24 win over College of Charleston in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

"I was glad I came out and glad I impacted the game in a lot of different ways," said Mosqueda-Lewis, who moved into third place on UConn's career list for 3-pointers.
"It is something that is going to help my team more. My team needs me to do more than just be a shooter, I need to contribute in a lot of ways. It is something I want.
While Mosqueda-Lewis hit five 3-pointers in a game for the 18th time in her career and posted her 25th 20-point game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma was pleased with seeing her contribute in more ways than just hitting shots from the perimeter.
"It is a great step forward to get that much done," Auriemma said. "It was a good first day back, it is a good sign
"I was probably more impressed with things she did off the ball."

Mosqueda-Lewis could be seen coughing occasionally during the Nov. 17 loss to Stanford but it wasn't until after the game when the full brunt of the illness began to set in.
She returned to practice on Tuesday and was able to practice without restriction for the rest of the week.
"I was really anxious," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "After coming off a (game) like that (against Stanford) you want to come in and work on new things, just kind of get yourself in a different kind of a rhythm.
"It is definitely not something that anybody wants as a team or as a player. I want to make an impact. I am excited to have games where I can get out and work on some things."

College of Charleston was within five points after an Erin Hall 3-pointer with 16:37 left to play.

If there was a negative it was the season-high 23 turnovers.

"I don't like turnovers and I don't like dumb turnovers like we had today," Auriemma said. "When you play quickly like we were trying to play today, sometimes that happens. I can't explain it. I am not a big fan of good turnovers much less bad turnovers and we had a bunch of those today. Maybe it was the weather (referring to a chilly Germain Arena), we haven't been in the Great Alaska Shootout in a long time so maybe it was the weather."